Cigarette holding device



Jan. 23, 1951 E G 2,539,276

CIGARETTE HOLDING DEVICE Filed Aug. 28, 1947 p 'WM I1 52, 5071111921119 Patented Jan. 23, 1951 UN ITEDJ STATES. PATENT OFFICE GIGARETTEPHOLDINGZDEVICE limestn. schmelin UniQn,,Mieh...

Application-August 28, 1947', SerialNo'. 771,061

@Claima. (Cl. 2.11:60).

. This: invention-relates; to; ci arette; holdin d e vices; and has more;particularqroference to hold.-

ers of the: ype. capable. of. upp rtin a .num

ber: of cigarettes: with. portions thereoI. exposed...

for: easy: access One, of theobiectsof this: invention residesim.thel provision. of a cigarette; holding device;

which a. number; of cigarettes are heldv in.- diyidually in; a.-.subs.tan,tia11y upright condition withritheir. upper ends; exposedforweasy ccess and-withdrawal: from. the: device;

I Another; object. oi. this. invention resides. in.

the; provision. of. a cigarette; holding device. of the; character:;described. which. isreadily attachable,- to; anxzsuitable .supportingsurface;

Still; another object of this invention; resides in; the provisioni of a ci arette holding device.- of; the; character described. which. is; provided with atta.ching;meansin. the natureoi a; $11.0? tionicup.onytheaunderside thereof so, as to enable-1 the; device. to be readily attached to. a, supporting surface such as the. instrument panel of; an automobile; in a. position. holding. the. cigarettes: readily: accessibleito, the driver of the. automobile.

It;is.;a further object;of'thisinvention to provide; a; cigarette.holdingdevice of: the character: described with areadily detachable. humidifying unit; fgor. supplying moisture to: portionszof" the cigarettes held; by the device. to thus maintain freshnessror the cigarettes; 7

With. the above. and other obiects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds; this: invention resides, in. thenovel construction, combination and'arrangement of parts substantially'as hereinafter described and more particu larly defined by'the appended claims, it being'" understood that such changes in the precise em bodiment of theherein. disclosed invention may lie-made as come within the scope of theclaims; The accompanying drawing illustrates: one

complete examp e ofthe physical embodiment;- of the invention constructed according to the bestmode so far devised for the" practical appli'cat'ion of theprinciples thereof, and in which-:-

Fi'gu're 1 is a more or-less=diagrammaticdbn gitudinalsectional" view' through a portion of an. automobile at the instrument panel thereof iiliistrating oneuse for' the; cigarette" holding device of this invention;

I Figure" 2" is a pers ective view ofther device. having nortionsthereof' broken away and shown" section: *Elgurea is a-persoective: view. of. thehu-midify Figure 4: is; a; cross sectional. view; taken; through: Figurev 2 on; the: plane; of; the line. 4-4; Referring: nowmore particularly to. the; ac,-. mpanying drawinginwhi-ch like numerals in! dicate like parts; the-.numeralb generally'desigr the'norma-l use20f'the'device, lie ontheir-sides:

one aboventhe other so as to dispose'their flanges-i in substantially spaced apart" horizontal relationship. i

The intermediate flange 9 of the bracket is.

common to both channelmembers that is,- it provides the lower flange of the upper' channel member as well as the upperflange of the: lower channel member. The flange 9 as well as the flange l0 thereab'ove' are each provided with rows of apertures H with said rows aligning with the'back l2of the upper channel member and'with each of the apertures 0f the upperflange It aligning with one of the apertures of the common flange 9- therebeneath. Theseapertures are of a size to freely receive cigarettes; indicated 'atl3 in Figures l and 4', and since the apertures in the flanges align with one another it will be apparent that-the cigarettes are held in a substantially upright condition and have-- their lower ends-projecting intothe space between theflange eand theflange l5 at" the bottom of the bracket which provides the lower flange of the lower channel member 8; As clearly" shown in Figures 2 amid, the back or web I2 ofthe upperchannel member lies over the open side of the lower-channel member; while the backor web l6 of the lower channel memberliesi beneath the open side of the upper channel member:

The flange I5 of the lower channel member is provided with an aperture IT in which is se-- cured" a" suction cup l8" to'provide for easy" at -tachment of the bracket to a supporting sur face such as the instrument panel 2;)" of an automobil'e; in the manner indicated in- Figure 12.. As is-customary'; the suction cup has ahead 21'. over ying the inner side of the lower flange i5" for-rPt'aining-the cup connected with the bracket; Althou h. it will he readilv a reciated that thehracket'thusfardescribed is capa le ofsupporting a n imher of cigarettes inserted the. apertures with their" lowerends' rece ved; on; and? supported-"by the-lower fiangeat of the channel member 8 and their upper ends accessible for withdrawal at the top of the bracket, it is desirable in many instances to provide the device with a humidifying unit generally designated 22. The unit 22 is of drawer-like shape and is easily insertable into the space between the flanges of the lower channel member from the open side thereof.

The humidifying unit comprises a bottom wall 23 having a length not greater than the length of the lower channel member 8 and a width just slightly less than the width of the flanges of the lower channel member. End walls 24 on the unit are bent up from the opposite ends of the bottom wall to close the opposite ends of the lower channel member, and a front wall 25 bent up from one side edge of the bottom wall closes the front side of the lower channel member.

Referring to Figure 4, it will be seen that the height of the front and end walls of the humidifying unit is slightly less than the space between the flanges of the lower channel member so as to accommodate the head 2| of the suction cup beneath the bottom wall 23 of the unit, but that the height of these walls is such as to require compression of the head of the suction cup when the unit is in place so that the expansive force of the head 2! firmly presses the upper edges of the front and end walls of the unit against the underside of the flange 9. The expansive force of the head of the suction cup is thus utilized to maintain the humidifying unit in place inside the lower panel member and to hold the humidifying unit against rattling which would be highly distracting and objectionable, for instance, to the occupants of the drivers compartment of an automobile.

In order to further assure against accidental displacement of the humidifying unit from the lower channel member, the outer portion of the flange 9 is formed with a ridge 2'! projecting slightly downwardly substantially in line with the web l2 of the upper channel member. This ridge engages ahead of the front wall 25 of the humidifying unit as clearly shown in Figure 4 and restricts the entrance to the lower channel member to an extent such as to require a slight spreading of its flanges for insertion or detachment of the humidifying unit from the device.

The humidifying unit 22 further includes a 4 moisture retaining element 29 which rests on the bottom wall 23 and may be made of felt, asbestos, or a well known type of clay having the desired moisture retaining characteristics. The moisture retaining element 29 occupies only the lower portion of the humidifying unit and is retained in place by means of a foraminous platform 3B in the nature of a screen or perforated plate. The plate or screen as is located intermediate the bottom wall 23 and the flange 9 in substantially parallel relationship with these members, and its function, of course, is to prevent the lower ends of the cigarettes projecting into the humidifying unit from contacting the moisture retaining element 29.

As seen in Figure 3, the plate or platform 38 is provided with a pair of relatively short tongues 3| projecting from its opposite ends into apertures 32 in the end walls 24 to provide a secure connection between the plate and the humiditying unit.

When suitably moisturized, the element 29 will retain its moisture for relatively long periods of time because of the fact that the walls of the humidifying unit cooperate with the flange 9 and the web N5 of the lower channel member to enclose the same; and when the humidifying element has been properly selected, it will give off its moisture gradually to the lower end portions of the cigarettes inside the humidifying chamber to keep the same in fresh condition.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention provides a cigarette holding device which is especially useful for the operators of automobiles and the like and which in addition to holding a quantity of cigarettes at all times accessible to the driver maintains the cigarettes in a desirably fresh condition.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a cigarette holding device: a bracket comprising connected upper and lower channel members having their flanges in spaced superimposed relationship and having a common flange between them with said common flange and the flange thereabove provided with aligning sets of apertures to receive and hold cigarettes in a substantially upright condition with their lower ends projecting into the space between the flanges of the lower channel member; a suction cup carried by the bottom flange of the lower channel member to provide for attachment of the bracket to a suitable support, said suction cup being of resilient material and having a portion disposed inside the lower channel member; a humidifying unit readily detachably confined in said lower channel member between said portion of the suction cup and the common flange of the channel members to hold said portion of the suction cup under compression and to be yieldingly pressed thereby against the underside of the said common flange, said humidifying unit substantially closing the space between the flanges of the lower channel member; and a foraminous platform carried by the humidifying unit intermediate the flanges of the lower channel member to support cigarettes in said apertures with their upper ends accessible at the top of the bracket.

2. ihe structure set forth in claim 1 further characterized by the provision of a ridge on said common flange restricting the entrance to said lower channel member for maintaining the humidifying unit in place against accidental displacement, said ridge requiring that the flanges of the lower channel element be spread apart slightly for detachment of the humidifying unit from the lower channel member.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein' moisture retaining element on said bottom W311 of the unit, and a foraminous platform interposed between said moisture retaining element and the lower ends of cigarettes in said space between the flanges of the lower channel member to prevent their contact with the moistureretaining element and for holding the cigarettes with their upper ends accessible at the top of v the bracket.

4. In a cigarette holding having three superimposed; spaced apart substantially parallel flanges, the upper and middle flanges being provided with aligned sets of apertures to receive and hold cigarettes in a substantially upright position with their lower ends projecting into the space between the middle 1 device: a bracketand lower flanges and the middle and lower flanges being connected by a web extending along the rear of the bracket; a downwardly extending ridge along the front edge of the middle flange; a suctioncup of resilient material secured beneath the lower flange by means of a knob-like portion on said cup projecting through a closely fitting hole in the lower flange and extending above the lower flange, said cup enabling attachment of the bracket to a suitable support; a

drawer-like element having a bottom, a front and end walls and adapted to close the space between said middle and lower flanges with the upper edge of its front wall in engagement with" said ridge and with its bottom wall engaged by said upwardly extending knob-like portion of the suction cup to be securely but readily detachably retained in place thereby; a moisture retaining element on saidbottom wall of the unit; and a foraminous platform interposed between said REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 83,439 Gruendl Feb. 24, 1931 1,082,399 Brenauer Dec. 23, 1913 1,205,751 King Nov. 21, 1916 1,634,953 ,McCune et a1 July 5, 1927 1,965,032 Davey July 3, 1934 1,968,191 Danner July 31, 1934 

